The body of a missing Kansas teenager was found in western Kansas. Now, his family is pushing for answers as to what happened to him.
On Dec. 18, the Dodge City Police Department said Cody Ceniceros, a 17-year-old who went missing the day after Thanksgiving, was found deceased. A property owner discovered his vehicle, which had crashed in a remote area of Ford County off 117 Road and Lariat Way, which is less than eight miles southeast of Dodge City. Cody’s body was inside the red 1999 Chevy Tracker.
“Please give our family time to grieve over the loss of our amazing loving kind Cody,” the family shared on its Facebook page, Justice 4 Cody Ceniceros. “We will give everyone updates as to what is next in this very difficult process. We can not express our gratitude for the over pour of love and support you showed all of us through everything. Thank You so very much!!!”
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The DCPD said the preliminary investigation shows that the vehicle left the roadway, drove through a farm field east of the intersection, went airborne and rolled over. It appears he died on impact, but an autopsy is being performed to get an exact cause of death. The Kansas Highway Patrol’s fatality crash team is investigating the scene.
“Our hearts are with Cody’s family during this difficult time,” DCPD Chief Drew Francis shares in a Facebook post. “The outpouring of community support in the search for Cody, and the family’s tireless efforts, are deeply appreciated.”
Chief Francis said he wanted to share the preliminary release due to public interest in the case. A public search for Cody was planned for Friday, and thousands of people have rallied behind the family, as they’ve been frustrated to not get answers.
“I extend my deepest sympathies to all impacted by this tragedy and thank everyone involved in the search efforts,” Chief Francis said.
FAMILY SEEKING ANSWERS
In the days following Cody being found, his family has had many questions about the day he died. Roxanne wonders if her son was hurt before the rollover crash or was being chased. Investigators have walked his mom, Roxanne Ceniceros, through what happened.
She recalls the earliest part of the investigation — right after Cody went missing. On Facebook, she said she felt like law enforcement didn’t get to things as fast as they should have with her boy’s disappearance. While she’s much more satisfied with how law enforcement has treated the family recently, she said it took a couple of days before people took them seriously.
“When the lead detective got on the case, he made sure to do anything and everything from that point on,” she said. “But, you have a big period of time that nothing was done, and I just feel like they want nothing to become of it or nothing to be able to be proven because then they have to answer to the fact of why that time was lost. Why wasn’t it taken seriously? I mean, I knew I knew within that first phone call something was wrong with my kid. It wasn’t taken seriously in the community.”
The community did rally behind the family, though, especially as she shared updates on social media. Roxanne is grateful to have that support. She wished it wasn’t so hard, especially to get information from the last people to see her son alive.
“There should have been no reason, no reason I had to fight so hard for answers that were just simple answers,” she said. “Like that’s what makes people question even more because you don’t hide the truth, especially when it’s your best friend’s kid. You don’t do that.”
Cody’s body was sent to a lab for an autopsy. Roxanne said it may take up to a few months before they see results.
As of Jan. 2, 2024, Roxanne said the family is paying for a second autopsy on Cody’s body. While they wait for results from the first one, she said the family wants a second opinion. The family is also paying for a person to investigate the teen’s death. Roxanne said community fundraisers, including t-shirt sales, will be used to help fund these efforts. She said it’s important to their family because they plan to cremate Cody’s body and want to be at peace.
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FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS
Cody will be laid to rest at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 30, at the First Christian Church at 711 5th in Dodge City. In lieu of flowers memorials are suggested to the Cody Ceniceros Memorial Fund in care of the funeral home, Swaim Funeral Chapel, 1901 6th Ave, Dodge City, KS 67801, Swaim Funeral Home shares in his online obituary. An online fundraiser has been organized to help the family as well. You can find more information by clicking here.
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The past few weeks have been the toughest for Roxanne Ceniceros and her family.
They’ve been waiting for any clue as to what happened to her teenage son, Cody, who was last seen the day after Thanksgiving in Dodge City.
“Night times are really, really hard for me, especially after I get off work, and going up to my driveway and not seeing his car there,” Roxanne said. “It’s just everything…just kind of overflows because that big question out there is like, why hasn’t his car been spotted? You know, where…where is it?”
The Dodge City Police Department is investigating the case and has had the help of about 15 other agencies, Chief Drew Francis shared in a city council meeting on Dec. 4. Some agencies, like in law enforcement in Texas and Oklahoma were recruited to help track down vehicles matching what Cody is known to drive: a 1999 red Chevrolet Tracker with Kansas license plate D441556.
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“My husband was out you know trying to check all his spots city likes to be out in the county roads and want to go check the lakes again,” Roxanne said. “Community was already down to the, you know, the riverbed on ATVs looking for him. Then DCPD, kind of you know, once Monday hit and kind of got more serious. Everything, we had even more of an outreach from the community.”
Roxanne said people had used crop dusting planes, personal planes and drones to look for the 17-year-old. They looked at county roads and lakes.
“We know that my son is loves fishing. He loves being out there with his kayak, with his bull terrier that was just as happy spot so the waters were something we were very concerned about,” Roxanne said.
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Dodge City Police has its eye on those spots too, said Capt. Jerad Goertzen. Investigators have searched some bodies of water that Cody is known to frequent. The Kansas Highway Patrol has aided with air searches too.
On Tuesday, Dec. 12, the KBI Crime Scene Unit and the Ford County Sheriff’s Office conducted a search of the residence where Cody was last seen, and a vehicle was ceased, but no items were found connected to Cody’s disappearance, Goertzen said.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
There few known facts about what happened to her son, but this is what Roxanne can piece together about the day:
3:40 p.m. – He left his biological dad’s home in Spearville.
3:50 p.m. – Went to ex-girlfriend’s house in Spearville. The two were going through a breakup.
4:20 p.m. – Cody came to his mom’s home on the north side of Dodge City.
5:30 p.m. – He spoke with Roxanne on the phone, regarding making a doctor appointment.
5:50 p.m. – He posted to Snapchat. He was crying and upset about his breakup.
6 p.m. – Cody arrived at a person’s home on the south side of Dodge City.
6:10 to 6:50 p.m. – His phone’s last ping. The phone is believed to be turned off then around then. //www.kake.com/global/vendor/frankly/next-gen-videoplayer.html?clipid=15440386&affname=kake&playerdivid=next-gen-videoplayer-15440386&width=auto&height=auto&baseurl=www.kake.com&cmsinlineclip=true
Roxanne was out of state with her husband when this took place. She had spoken to him on the phone around 5:30 p.m. After, one of her other son’s let her know that Cody posted to Snapchat saying he was sad and upset. Roxanne called Cody several times, but each call went straight to voicemail, she said. She called DCPD to do a welfare check on him.
“Something in my gut just told me something was wrong, Especially when his phone went straight to voicemail because my son isn’t it has to turn off the phone,” she said. “Like once it gets 30 percent, he’s like, ‘Where’s the charger?’ He does not turn off his phone.
As for the post, she said Cody didn’t say why he was upset, but her insticts overwhelmed her. “I just was really concerned, so I called for a welfare check and started packing my stuff up and then me and my husband started heading to town. We are five hours out of town.”
OVERWHELMING SUPPORT
Her ex-husband and his wife were trying to find Cody, among a lot of people in the community. Roxanne is grateful to have so much support, as she continues to work, provide for her other kids and look for Cody.
People have propped her up with an online GoFundMe fundraiser, which was organized by her sister. It’s to help pay for a private investigator and other needs during the search. As of Dec. 18, it’s met $2,000 of a $7,000 goal.
She’s put together a bake sale and a Facebook page, Justice 4 Cody Ceniceros, which has more than 5,400 followers. There, she shares updates on the case.
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ONLINE SPECULATION
There are a lot of rumors and accusations floating around on the case, Roxanne shares. Some of that speculation revolves around the last people Cody is believed to have been with on Nov. 24., including court documents being shared about those people online. It became such an issue that Dodge City Police commented about the case in a Facebook post. “We believe it is in the best interest of the case, as well as the community at large, to clear up some misleading information at this point,” the police department wrote on its page on Dec. 6. “The court document references an alleged ‘fight’ that was witnessed by a 6-year-old. This information came from an interview conducted by a trained forensic interviewer with our department. Our interviewer clarified during the interview that the alleged fight the child was referencing was an argument, not a physical fight. This is a crucial piece of context that makes the important difference between legal and illegal actions by the parties allegedly involved. We understand the community’s interest in the case and a strong desire for justice and answers. We share this desire as well and are working tirelessly to find those answers. We encourage anyone with tips or information regarding this case to contact the Dodge City Police Department at 620-225-8126 or Communications at 620-227-4646. You can also message us directly over Facebook or through our website at www.dodgecitypd.org. For anonymous tips, please use our TIP411 app.”
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SEARCHES FOR CODY
As there have been informal searches for Cody, Roxanne said she wanted to have experts help put together a thorough volunteer search. She was happy to see two groups get involved: Great Plains Search & Rescue and Missing Persons Search Team of KS.
A public search for Cody will take place at 9 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 22. People are asked to go to the fellowship hall at Ford Community Church at 701 Main Street in Ford, Kan. Volunteers must be 18 and older. Roxanne said people should be dressed to go through tall brush and other elements outdoors. Participants will not be allowed to film or take photos during the search, she shared.
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While the event is close to Christmas, Roxanne continues to push forward for her family. She misses her son, who she describes as being sweet and caring.
She hasn’t lost hope with finding Cody.
“No, I think as his mom, I can’t just because nobody wants another outcome,” she said. “You know, as a mom the best outcome and really truly the only outcome I want is for him just to walk through the door, and, you know, this to be something of the past. So I mean, I always keep a little hope in my heart.”
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DODGE CITY, Kan. (KAKE) – The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is asking for the public’s help in finding a Dodge City teen whose been missing since the day after Thanksgiving.
Cody Ceniceros, 17, was last seen on the evening of November 24 at a family friends’ home, NCMEC said. He may have left in a 1999 red Chevrolet Tracker with Kansas license plate D441556.
Cody stands 5-foot-10, weighs 167 pounds, and has brown eyes and brown hair. He was last seen wearing a dark grey shirt, dark blue jeans and white shoes.
Cody’s mom told NCMEC that this is out-of-character behavior for Cody and the family is deeply concerned for his safety.
“I miss him and just want to bring him home,” she said. “If you see something, please say something.”
“This information came from an interview conducted by a trained forensic interviewer with our department. Our interviewer clarified during the interview that the alleged fight the child was referencing was an argument, not a physical fight,” DCPD said in a Facebook post. “This is a crucial piece of context that makes the important difference between legal and illegal actions by the parties allegedly involved. We understand the community’s interest in the case and a strong desire for justice and answers. We share this desire as well and are working tirelessly to find those answers.”
Cody’s family has created a Facebook page for updates.
If you have any information about Cody or his disappearance, contact NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or the Dodge City Police Department at 1-620-227-4646.
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A family is concerned for a southwest Kansas teenager missing since around Thanksgiving weekend.
Cody Dean Ceniceros, 17, was last seen on Nov. 22 and was last heard from on Nov. 24 in Dodge City. He was reportedly seen on the southeast side of town near the Green Acres mobile home park.
He drives a 1999 Chevrolet Tracker. It appears his phone is turned off, the Dodge City Police Department shares. He was last seen wearing a dark grey shirt, dark blue jeans and white shoes.
CODY DEAN CENICEROS
Missing from: Dodge City, Kan.
Missing since: Nov. 24, 2023
Age when reported missing: 17
Height: 5’10’’
Weight: 170 pounds
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Distinguishing features: Pierced ears
If you have information that could help the case, contact Dodge City Police at (620) 227-4646 or (620) 225-8126; or the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (785) 296-4017 or anonymously online with the KBI by clicking here.
KAKE News features the story of a missing person every weekday in our newscasts in the mornings and evenings. If you have a person you’d like for us to share a story about, please contact Anchor Annette Lawless at alawless@kake.com.
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